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On Saturday, the Twins announced that Anthony DeSclafani will miss all of the 2024 season (and some of 2025) after undergoing a flexor tendon surgery. It’s the latest setback for DeSclafani, in a career marred by injuries. He missed the 2017 season while dealing with a UCL strain. In 2022, he was limited to fewer than 19 innings because of an ankle injury. A right flexor strain also ended his 2023 season last July. The Twins knew there was a good chance of this outcome when trading for him, which makes this situation distinct from other recent trades.
Minnesota acquired DeSclafani as part of the trade with Seattle for Jorge Polanco. The Twins also received reliever Justin Topa and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen. The Mariners added $4 million to the $4 million they had been paid by the Giants, reducing DeSclafani’s salary from $12 million to $4 million. González is considered a borderline top-100 prospect, Topa was a quality setup man last season, and Bowen is a recent late-round pick who is more of a flyer. The value in the trade was always likely to come from those players, and not from DeSclafani. Seattle needed the payroll flexibility to add Polanco’s contract, which required the Twins to take on a less desirable contract. It was the cost of doing business in this trade, and not a result of the front office targeting an injured player.
Some fans and local media members are pointing fingers at the front office for acquiring another injured pitcher. While that was true, the Twins’ front office was making this trade for the other players involved and not for the starting pitcher who became injured. There are multiple reasons the team continues to trade for injured pitchers, and the Twins aren’t the only club dealing with this issue. Minnesota has made some bad trades under the current regime, but there is still time for the Polanco trade to work out in their favor.
Derek Falvey has attempted to add depth to the roster in recent seasons. Last season, the club traded Luis Arráez for Pablo López to add starting depth, pushing Bailey Ober to Triple-A. The Twins wanted DeSclafani’s addition to push Louie Varland to St. Paul to begin the year, but that won’t happen. Minnesota’s pitching depth is already being tested, and the club hopes the current rotation will stay healthy to begin the year.
The problem here is that the front office was forced by ownership to cut $30 million from the payroll. Minnesota needed to find payroll savings, and one way to do that was by trading a veteran like Polanco. It was also frustrating for fans to watch the top free-agent starting pitchers sign below-market deals. Blake Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, signed with the Giants for two years and $62 million. Jordan Montgomery, who helped Texas win the World Series, signed a one-year, $25 million contract with the Diamondbacks. The Twins could have fit either player into their payroll if they were at last year's $160 million total. Ownership forced this type of trade, which led to adding a starter with a high injury risk.
Falvey and Thad Levine have shown they are not afraid to take risks, and sometimes, that comes with a chance to be burned. For every bad Tyler Mahle trade, the team can hope for a franchise-altering López-type deal. DeSclafani doesn’t fit into any of these categories, because the front office didn't proactively target him. The Mariners forced a salary dump to get the other pieces in the trade, and that makes him different.
Should DeSclafani be included among the other pitchers who were injured for the Twins? Leave a comment to start the discussion.
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